Oil seems to be spraying upwards from somewhere

So I seem to have a serious oil leak on my recently purchased used 2012 Prius. Grr. What I can't figure out is where it's coming from. It's not dripping down, it's spraying upwards. I wiped the oil off so I can see how fast it is accumulating, but it seems to be sprayed from somewhere down lower. I seem to have lost half a quart in 300 miles.

All I can tell now is that it has to be somewhere on the front of the engine, and it's spraying upwards, since nothing contains oil that is higher than the place it is accumulating.

I am guessing there is an electric oil pump down there and high pressure hoses that have fittings?

Naturally, it doesn't do it sitting in the garage. I am guessing it needs the engine to be running at high power.

Dropbox - oil_found.jpg

 

Yes, I see spray pattern above at the hood

No dash lights

No, of course not. Seller seems to have carefully cleaned it.

A week

None listed, no visible damage.

What COULD be causing this? I just drove it around for 30 minutes, flooring it and braking hard, thinking that maybe under maximum engine load or maximum braking load I'd get some oil spray. No dice, looks the same as it did before.

From where the spray has to be coming from, I am thinking maybe it's actually brake fluid? I can't tell, it seems like engine oil, is yellow and mostly clear. But the spray seems to be from below, then dripping down.

Worst case I guess I'll need to replace the engine, lol. Only about 2k DIY, and I'd have to drive my old car for the months it would probably take me. What I don't get is what the problem actually is.

I mean I guess if it leaks a half quart a week, and I just refill it with the cheap stuff (no point in using full synthetic if it's just gonna leak back out) that's only $1 a week or so. Negligible in cost. And I guess I could sell this thing through Craiglist to the next sucker and get one with less miles.

Really the frustrating thing is not being able to tell what the problem even is. I'm guessing at a minimum I will need to somehow remove the air cleaner and various other stuff so I can see the front of the engine.

Even though I've only had it a week, I still love the car. The cool sounds it makes, the gas mileage, the form factor and driving position, the solid (compared to my old car) braking and perfectly adequate acceleration.

 

Both coolant reservoirs are full. I thought the oil was low but last week I dipstick checked it on a slanted driveway. It showed full then, and a little under full this week...when I was in a garage. So my adding some oil may have been fixing a problem it doesn't have.

I also managed to spill a little oil when topping it off, and so now there seems to be just little bits of oil everywhere.

All I can do is watch and wait, I guess. I took a photograph of the dipstick this week, and this time next week I'll dipstick it again and see if it's ok.

My theory for brake fluid was that the reservoir for brake fluid is a little below the lower line. It brakes just fine. I don't see any cracks but they could be hidden. Anyways, I was theorizing that the brakes have an electric pump somewhere, since I hear it all the time, and obviously some high pressure lines and accumulators and a whole electronically controlled manifold somewhere for the traction control. Lots of places for a leak. But I don't know where all that stuff is at.

I suspect I'm going to be fine. Probability says I will be. The reason why you can get a used engine with 30k miles on it on ebay for $600+200 shipping is because nobody is buying them, since theirs still runs.